Daily Archives: April 12, 2017

Beyond the gunplay and set pieces, the Ghost in the Shell anime also set itself apart by throwing you into the deep end of a world where technology is completely integrated with humans. Most people have cyberbrains -- metal cases for their organic brains that allow them to "jack in" to computers and networks. The film doesn't slow down much to explain the concept of a cyberbrain to you, but you eventually grasp it by how characters use them. At one point, you see an official's hands expand into a multitude of robotic digits, which is clearly a big help for typing faster. While the remake echoes this imagery, it doesn't do anything thoughtful with it.

Take the character of Togusa, for example. In the anime, he's established as the least augmented member of Section 9, the intelligence group led by Major Kusanagi. He uses a traditional revolver, and his lack of cybernetic implants seems like a detriment when he's surrounded by literal supersoldiers. But as he starts to question why he's even on the team, Kusanagi makes an intriguing point: A system with standardized components will inevitably fail. If every member of her team was cybernetically enhanced in the same way, that leaves them open to an attack that could take them all out.

Togusa's mere presence is a check against that design flaw. The entire exchange is something we see often in cyberpunk: Technology doesn't always mean progress. In the remake, they point out that Togusa uses an old gun and that's it.

Perhaps the biggest failure of the American version of Ghost in the Shell is that it simply doesn't do anything new. Whereas the original brought plenty of innovative ideas to the table -- it was one of the few science fiction films to actually build on the Blade Runner aesthetic -- the adaptation is perfectly content with copying surface-level style while dumbing down deeper concepts. While the film has been praised for its style, ultimately it's basically just the original Ghost in the Shell aesthetic mashed together with Blade Runner and a boatload of CGI. The remake's vision of New Port City is also oddly sterile. There's none of the lived-in sense of grit you'd find in most cyberpunk stories.

Even the villain is far less interesting. In the remake, it ends up being yet another evil corporate plot. But in the anime, the "Puppet Master" is a completely synthetic life form "born out of the sea of information." He's not inherently evil, he's just trying to figure out who he is.

"It can also be argued that DNA is nothing more than a program designed to preserve itself," the Puppet Master says when someone claims he's just a computer program. "Life has become more complex in the overwhelming sea of information. And life, when organized into species, relies upon genes to be its memory system. So, man is an individual only because of his intangible memory... and memory cannot be defined, but it defines mankind. The advent of computers, and the subsequent accumulation of incalculable data has given rise to a new system of memory and thought parallel to your own. Humanity has underestimated the consequences of computerization."

Cyberpunk stories have rarely been about easy answers, and that's yet another concept the Ghost in the Shell adaptation fails to grasp. Every conflict ends up having a distinct conclusion, be it the villain or Major's place in the world. At the end of the anime however, Major Kusanagi doesn't defeat the antagonist in the traditional sense. She joins with him to create an entirely new being -- a union of a human soul and brain together with a purely cybernetic being.

After being transplanted into a new body, she looks out over the cityscape and simply asks: "And where do I go from here? The network is vast and infinite."

Read the original:

'Ghost in the Shell' is more cyberposeur than cyberpunk - Engadget

By Joel Couture . April 10, 2017 . 2:00pm

Once players walk off of their shuttle inProxyndic, theyre on their own in a hostile future, left to find ways to survive and thrive in this cyberpunk world.

There is no official government in Proxyyndic, and the world is run by a series of corporations, militias, and syndicates, all battling for supremacy. Players will be left to do whatever they like in this world, having to deal with the consequences later.

Survival can mean many things in this game. Players are free to gamble, trying to raise money through high-stakes card games. They can join a faction, doing work for them, but will have to deal with the fallout from rival gangs. They can also set out to form their own syndicate, play the stock market, or get an ordinary job, finding many different ways to make the money they need.

Proxyndics vision of the future is a dangerous one, though, and players may need to defend themselves using guns or hand-to-and combat. They will steadily grow as they fight, gaining new powers and increased stats through the games RPG levelling system. They can also hire bodyguards to keep them safe, or just try to keep a low profile, staying out of sight and locking their doors at night.

Players will have to attend to more than their financial needs, making sure theyre fed and well rested. Enemies are not the only thing that can kill the player in this game.

Proxyndic has already passed through Steam Greenlight, and is expected to release in Q2 this year.

Video game stories from other sites on the web. These links leave Siliconera.

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Players Decide How To Survive In Proxyndic's Cyberpunk Future - Siliconera

(Last Updated On: April 10, 2017)

Odd Tales and Raw Fury are working on a new game called The Last Night. Its an indie cyberpunk tale set in the future and. thats about all I know.

A teaser trailer for the game was released along with the promise of more information set to be released in the near future. You can check out the trailer below.

Thanks to a YouTube recommendation, I actually did manage to find out a bit more about the game thanks to a video from Independent Pixel, who has two and a half minutes worth of gameplay footage for the upcoming title. It appears to be a hybrid, action-adventure of sorts.

You can check out the video below.

Okay, so first of all the background graphics and city look amazing. As players walk through the environment theyll have a gun they can pull out to kill people and robots with.

It kind of reminds me a little bit of Out of this World.

Unfortunately the video above isnt really representative of what Raw Fury and Odd Tales are working on, though. That video was for a game jam from back in 2015.

I have no idea what the game will look like now, but the teaser trailer at the top seemed to hint at a mixture of pixels with 3D vector mapping. If the stages really are in 3D with pixelated characters then that would be a pretty cool art-style set within a cyberpunk universe.

They will be rolling out more info on this interesting looking game at some point throughout 2017 we just dont know when. You can keep your eyes peeled for more info by visiting the Odd Tales website.

For now Raw Fury seems to be focused on getting Kingdom New Lands up and out for the Nintendo Switch following the release of the game on iOS and Android devices.

Original post:

The Last Night Trailer Teases A Cyberpunk Action-Adventure - One Angry Gamer (blog)